Long title | An Act to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, the General Education Provisions Act (creating a National Foundation for Postsecondary Education and a National Institute of Education), the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 874, Eighty-first Congress, and related Acts, and for other purposes. |
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Nicknames | Education Amendments of 1972 |
Enacted by | the 92nd United States Congress |
Effective | June 23, 1972 |
Citations | |
Public law | 92-318 |
Statutes at Large | 86 Stat. 235 |
Codification | |
Acts amended | |
Titles amended | 20 U.S.C.: Education |
U.S.C. sections created | 20 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1681 et seq. |
Legislative history | |
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United States Supreme Court cases | |
Title IX is a portion of the United States Education Amendments of 1972, Public Law No. 92‑318, 86 Stat. 235 (June 23, 1972), codified at 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1688, co-authored and introduced by Senator Birch Bayh; it was renamed the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in 2002, after Patsy Mink, its late House co-author and sponsor. It states (in part) that:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was written in order to end discrimination in various fields based on sex, religion, race, color, or national origin, in the area of employment, the 1964 Act did not include any prohibition on gender discrimination in public education and federally assisted programs but it did energize the women's rights movement, which had somewhat slowed after women's suffrage in 1920. While Title IX is best known for its impact on high school and collegiate athletics, the original statute made no explicit mention of sports.
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson sent a series of executive orders in order to make some clarifications. Before these clarifications were made, the National Organization for Women (NOW) persuaded President Johnson to include women in his executive orders. Most notable is Executive Order 11375, which required all entities receiving federal contracts to end discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring and employment.
In 1969, Bernice Sandler used the executive order to help her fight for her job at the University of Maryland. She used university statistics showing how female employment at the university had plummeted as qualified women were replaced by men. Sandler brought her complaints to the Department of Labor's Office for Federal Fair Contracts Compliance where she was encouraged to file a formal complaint. Citing inequalities in pay, rank, admissions and much more, Sandler began to file complaints not only against the University of Maryland but numerous other colleges as well. Working in conjunction with NOW and Women's Equity Action League (WEAL), Sandler filed 269 complaints against colleges and universities.